Category: News and Events

In the context of commentary on protests like those in Quebec and the Occupy movement more broadly, it’s worth reflecting on the dangers of democratic tyranny.

The “people” can be tyrannical just as an individual sovereign or an oligarchy might. That’s why Aristotle considered democracy a defective form of government, because it too easily enshrines the will of the majority into an insuperable law. As Lord Acton put it, “It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.” For this same reason Tocqueville worried about the tyrannical power of the will of the majority, once settled:

So, what is a majority taken as a collective whole, if not an individual with opinions and quite often interests, in opposition to another individual whom we call a minority? Now, if you admit that and all-powerful man can abuse his power against his opponents, why not admit the same thing for a majority? Have men, united together, changed their character? Have they become more patient of obstacles by becoming stronger?

Of course not. As Tocqueville goes on to observe, the self-righteous assurance of the majority makes their impatience even more striking. They will brook no dissent because of the assurance that they are correct and that the majority rules, as it ought to.

When the majority (99%) can simply decide to take what they decide they “deserve” from the minority (1%), you have the recipe then for deep injustice. What I don’t see, however, is any unified majority (yet). The student protesters in Quebec might have some sympathy, but whatever the political fallout will be, it is unlikely that the younger generation is going to be politically successful in their bid to protect their economic interests against the entrenched interests of the boomer generations. In part this is because as much as they might protest, or complain, or start Internet petitions, young people don’t vote and they don’t have powerful lobbying groups.

The dynamic is likely to be the same here in the US. As the share of federal spending is increasingly dominated by entitlements like Medicare and Social Security, you’ll end up having recipients of various entitlements fighting it out. And no matter how upset college students and recent graduates are, I don’t see their political interests holding more sway than say, the retired. The AARP will beat the student union six days a week and twice on Sunday.

We can see this dynamic playing out all over the world. As Bill Frezza writes (HT: The Transom) in the context of Greece and the EU crisis, “Democracy becomes a cancer if its powers are not limited. That is because a sustainable democracy requires not just votes, but also governing institutions that protect the rights of minorities against predatory majorities. The disease of voters voting themselves benefits at someone else’s expense has infected much of the world.”

He concludes, “Greece provides a stark example of what happens when a government runs out of other people’s money. If the rest of us don’t take heed while there is still time, we will all end up like you.” And if the Greek leftists have their way, it may not matter what the rest of the world does: “…if you want to send us to the bottom, we will take you to the bottom too.”

That was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s answer to a press conference question on the Catholic Church’s stance on contraception, according to The Washington Examiner. Pelosi has consistently backed the Obama administration’s call to force employers to offer abortion, sterilization and birth control as part of employee health care, despite many organizations’ ethical, moral and religious objections (Acton’s PowerBlog offers more here on this topic.)

Pelosi’s answer is telling: Her faith should not affect (or infect) her work life, or even her daily life; it’s reserved for one day of the week only. Is that what Christians are called to? It hardly seems so. One of Acton’s initiatives, On Call In Culture, speaks directly to this: You can put in your hours, do the things you like to do on your own schedule, but what opportunities are you missing by not putting yourself in the hands of God? The fact is, Christians believe certain immutable truths and those truths don’t disappear when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday, when one walks out the church doors or when one sits down at the computer on Monday morning.

Recently, Cardinal Peter Turkson wrote to business leaders on just this topic, to people who ‘ … daily strive to witness to your faith in Christ and his charity at work in the world… ‘, reflecting, as the Cardinal says ‘ …on what it means to be authentically human in history, society and culture… ‘ The Cardinal – of the Church that Ms. Pelosi believes should be part of her life only 1/7 of the time – affirms that faith should infuse the social order daily in order to create a society where all people’s beliefs are safeguarded, and a government does not dictate behavior.

Ms. Pelosi can choose to believe whatever she wishes, but being a “Sunday only” Catholic isn’t truly an option for her. One either believes – day in and day out – and acts accordingly, or one does not. There is no “religion on Sunday” for Christians.

Now I don’t know any more details than what is contained in the Romenesko report, and it may well be that CEO Ryan Tate acted in an imprudent and incorrect fashion following his receipt of an anonymous email.

One of the things that’s interesting to me, however, is the implicit sense that because you pray with someone (“corporately,” in this case), you can’t fire them. Or at least not right afterward. That’s what the lede of the Romanesko report seems to convey, at least implicitly. Or it at least communicates the dissonance between prayer at an “all-hands meeting” and then going “ballistic” afterwards. In that case, it really might really be more about the particular actions of Tate than it is about broader conceptions of how prayer and work mix.

But is there a sense in which there’s some broader assumption that Christian businesspeople do things differently? I think so. Does it mean, however, that they don’t fire people? I don’t think so. But it may mean that they pray for (or even with) people before they fire them.

Again, being a Christian businessperson probably means you don’t fire people without appropriate cause. I don’t really want to debate the cause in this particular case. But it certainly doesn’t seem to mean that you don’t fire people ever.

In this week’s commentary, I take a look at Calvin Coolidge and his views on government. Coolidge is important today for many reasons. Chiefly, he’s a striking contrast to our current culture of government and the bloated state.

Coolidge was sandwiched in between the progressive era and the rise of the New Dealers. And in his era of leadership, tyrannical leaders who preached the supremacy of the state rose to power abroad. Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini in Italy are two examples. Coolidge preached limited government and saw himself as a civic educator who wanted to remind America of its founding freedom.

In watching what just transpired with the recall election in Wisconsin and the debate over public sector unions, there is again a connection to Coolidge. His rise to national prominence came as governor of Massachusetts when he took on a public union. Coolidge’s firm stand against the Boston Police Strike of 1919 later led him to reflect saying, “The people will respond to the truth.” Coolidge famously declared during the strike that, “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” Ronald Reagan would find inspiration from Coolidge’s hardline when he terminated the striking air traffic controllers in 1981 as president.

I have enjoyed reading through the speeches and biographies of Coolidge. I have read a lot of original sources such as Have Faith in Massachusetts, which is a collection of messages and speeches delivered by Coolidge during his political career in the Bay State. After reading through that, you get a picture of the depth of his conservative thought and how he was able to articulate it so well to the citizenry.

His most brilliant speech which is really a denunciation of the progressive era and a triumphant praise of America’s Founding is his remarkable address on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. If you don’t read anything else by Coolidge, that speech is a must read. Finally, keep the forthcoming Coolidge biography by Amity Shlaes on your radar.

A ‘Stand Up For Religious Freedom’ Rally, organized by a coalition of religious, non-profit, pro-life and pro-family organizations and individuals is scheduled for Friday, June 8, at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Rev. Robert Sirico is a featured speaker.

This public event, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST, is described as “…a peaceful protest to stand up for our religious beliefs and our 1st Amendment Freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.” Other speakers include former Congressman Peter Hoekstra and President/Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center Richard Thompson. Besides the featured speakers, there will be on-site voter registration, information tables from participating groups and a student poster contest.

One of the topics expected to be addressed is the Obamacare HHS mandate and its effects on religious organizations’ health care coverage for workers.

Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico’s Research on Religion podcast went live today. In it, Rev. Sirico sits down with host Tony Gill to discuss his new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for Capitalism, and a range of other topics, including the morality of capitalism, faith-based initiatives, and Austrian economics. The podcast is available to listen to or download online and regularly offers fresh perspective on relevant topics. Today’s is no exception. Check it out.